Spring clip holding means for initial tags



March 17, 1953 J, c. iqn u s 2,631,282

SPRING CLIP HOLDING MEANS FOR INITIAL TAGS Filed NOV. 4, 1950 33 33 A Z 52 INVENTOR BY j l 2 KZTTORNEYS Patented Mar. 17, 1953 UNITED STATES ATENT OFFICE SPRING CLIP HOLDING MEANS FOR INITIAL TAGS John C. Lindquist, Minneapolis, Minn.

Application November 4, 1950, Serial No. 194,088

1 Claim. 1

This invention relates generally to improvements in identification means for footwear and other articles of clothing, and the primary object is to provide means facilitating the application of initialed identification tags to such articles.

In my prior cc-pending application, Serial No. 119,240, filed October 3, 1949, and issued as U. S. Letters Patent No. 2,600,551, on June 17, 1952, I have disclosed a tool for applying footwear identification in the form of a small hand press having an anvil and a plunger head or block to which the initialed tags are applied so that upon op eration of the head against the anvil, the teeth on such tags may be clinched in the clothing to hold the tags in place. I find, however, that it is a little difficult to properly set up the initialed tags upon the plunger head so that the initials .will be properly aligned and in the desired order, and it is the primary object of the present invention to provide mechanism which will facilitate the loading of the tags upon the plunger head to the point where tags may be applied quickly and evenly without any chance for a misstep in the operation. Since I contemplate that the tags will be applied at the time of purchase of the footwear or other clothing, and by clerks who often are not familiar with mechanical elements and operations, I find the present invention to be extremely important to the successful operation of the tool.

Another object of this invention is to provide, for the purposes above set forth, a small loading stand or block having a series of apertures through which the teeth upon the tags may be thrust in order to locate and accurately line up the tags in the desired order. For cooperation with this loading stand, I then provide a spring clip which may be seated over the tags as assembled on the loading stand to easily and quickly obtain a firm grip upon the tags and hold them in their desired alignment. For then transferring the tags to the plunger head of the tool, this spring clip is provided with means for engaging said head in such fashion that the tags may be assembled on the head without any chance of mis-alignment. Upon the operation of the tool, then, to clinch the tags in the footwear or other clothing, the spring clip becomes detached from the tags readily for the next operation, as will be understood.

These and other more detailed and specific objects will be disclosed in the course of the following specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a side view of a tool of the construc- 2 tion disclosed and claimed in my prior co-pending application hereinbefore referred to and showing the spring clip forming part of the present invention as assembled upon the plunger head and holding the tags in position thereon.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the loading stand or block forming part of the present invention.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a single initialed identification tag of the type applied to the footgear in accordance with my invention.

Fig. 4 is a plan View of the loading stand with three of the initialed tags seated and aligned thereon.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken substantially along the line 5-5 in Fig. 4, but showing also the application of the spring clip to the tags as held in said stand.

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the spring clip alone.

Fig. 7 is a plan view of the spring clipas engaged with the initialed tags and supporting the same ready for application to the tool of Fig. 1.

Fig. 8 is a horizontal cross-sectional view along the line 8-8 of Fig. 1 to show the manner in which the spring clip engages the plunger head.

Referring now more particularly and by reference characters to the drawing, the tool as shown in Fig. 1 comprises a frame having a base l0 whereon is supported a transversely grooved anvil plate II and from one end of which base there extends upwardly a back member l2 supporting a top member l3 overlying the base and vertically bored to slidably receive a plunger I4 for upward and downward movements with respect to the anvil II. The plunger I4 is normally biased in an upward direction by an expansion coil spring l5, but may be forced downwardly by means of a handle l6 pivoted at H to an upward extension l8 of the frame in a manner which will be clearly apparent from the drawing and which is set out in detail in my copending application, Serial No. 119,240. Secured to the lower end of the plunger I4 is a rectangular plunger head or block I9 and, in my previous application, initialed tags of the type shown in Fig. 3 and designated at 26, were assembled side by side beneath the head I9 so that the depending teeth 2| of the tags would be clinched through the footgear or other article of clothing to be identified by pressing the head I9 down upon the anvil II. The tags 20 are all rectangular in shape with the teeth 2| depending from opposite margins and initials are embossed or otherwise suitably provided upon the tags as clearly shown.

In accordance with the present invention, I

provide first a loading stand or block designated generally at 22 stamped out of sheet metal to the rectangular shape clearly shown in Figs. 2, 4, and and having a top 23 from which sides 24 and ends 25 depend forming a hollow underside for the stand. Across the center of the top 23 there extends a raised rib 2B and along opposite edges of these ribs the top is apertured at 21 so that the initialed tags 20 placed upon the rib may have their teeth 2| depended through the apertures as best seen in Fig. 5. The width of the rib 25 and spacing of the apertures 21 are both such that this assembling of the, tags upon the stand will bring them into lateral engagement and hold them in proper alignment, as seen in Fig. 4, in addition to which the operator in setting up the tags upon the stand may very readily select and properly arrange the initials according to need.

My present invention further provides a spring clip designated generally at. 28 formed up from thin sheet spring metal with a base portion 29 having downwardly turned flanges 30 along the opposite longer edges. This base portion 20 is further provided with. threev large square openings 3|, and the arrangement is such thatthe flanges 30 may be. fitted. or. snapped over the opposite. edges 21 of the; three initialed tags assembled on. the loading stand as seen in Figs. 5 and 7. The engagement: of the flanges 30 with the tags is then such that the group of tags may be lifted fromthe stand. without their becoming disarranged or mis-aligned, while the apertures 3| permit the continuedyiew. of the initials. so that the tags may be. properly assembled upon the head. [9 of the tool. For thelatter. purpose the spring clip 28; has upstanding ends 32 with inwardly turned flanges 33 on their opposite vertical margins and the shape and size of the clip is such that these ends: 32: maybe slipped up over the correspondingends. of the plunger head l9 while the flanges. 33 will. grip the. corners thereof, as will be apparentfromiigs. l and18. I findthat this-transfer ofi the tags in the; spring 4 clip 28 to the tool may be carried out Without any tendency of the tags to fall out and further that the tags will be held firmly in place until they are clinched against the anvil ll.

Thus it will be seen that the operation of applying the initial tags to the footgear or other article is carried out first by setting up the selected tags upon the loading stand and then the attachment of the clip to the tags and subsequent transfer to the tool for the clinching operation. After the tags are clinched to the article to be identified, the upward movement of the plunger [4 will pull the spring clip freely from the. tags and it may be then readily removed from the plunger ready for the next operation.

It is understood that suitable modifications may be made in the structure as disclosed, provided such modifications come within the spirit and'scope of the appended claim. Having now therefore fully illustrated and described my invention, what I claim to be new and desirev to protect by Letters Patent is:

A. spring clip for holding: toothed initial tags in a row on the: head of a clinching tool, comprising a thin spring metalclip having openings to register with the tags. and downturned edges to grip and holdthe. tags, and upturned ends having inwardly turned edges to grip the said head and hold the tags thereon.

J OHN C. LINDQUIST.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of'this. patent:

UNITED STATES. PATENTS Number Name Datee82,-662 Underwood Sept. 13, 1892-" 799,768 Whitcher Sept. 19;- 1905' 900,969- Wallace Oct. 13, 1908 1,611,876 Berger Dec. 28, 1926 1,846,007 Levine- Feb. 16, 1932' 2,134,367 Hudiakoff Oct. 25, 1938 

